On The Air

Larry Nelson Stations Himself At The Forefront In Local Broadcasting

Where there's a will, there's a way could be Larry Nelson's personal motto.

Even as a child, Nelson fantasized about owning his own radio station, a big dream for a kid growing up in a middle-class family on Chicago's South Side.

But through determination, hard work and ingenuity, the 43-year-old Nelson has acquired several radio stations, including WSPY-FM 107.1, which has received numerous United Press International Awards, and WAUR-AM 930.

Nelson also owns WFXV-Ch. 30 television station, which operates from corporate offices and studios in Plano and is received by more than a million people in Kane, Kendall, Du Page, Will, Grundy, LaSalle and DeKalb Counties.

"Larry wasn't born with the proverbial silver spoon," said Lyle Dean, morning news anchor and assistant news director for WGN radio. "He built his business himself."

Dean first met Nelson at WLS radio in 1969.

"Unlike most engineers who were quite content to be at what was then the `big '89,' Larry wanted to build his own radio station. I only wish I had invested in his business when he offered me the chance. Then I would be rich like he is," Dean said.

The word "no" does not mean "no can do" in Nelson's dictionary, but rather "create an alternative route."

When no employee would monitor the voltage and amperage meter readings from Nelson's tower from midnight to 5 a.m. as the Federal Communication Commission required in 1977, he paid a dispatcher to monitor it from the police station, where he had the meters installed. The FCC was not happy about the arrangement but found the practice did not violate any rules.

In that same year when there was no frequency for a country-western station from Joliet, Nelson persuaded the FCC to juggle some stations around so he could create WCCQ, which he built up and sold in 1981, just as he purchased the bankrupt station WPOK in Pontiac, built it up and sold it for a hefty profit.

Nor was the FCC thrilled with Nelson when he wanted to use his 500-foot radio tower to transmit both his radio and WFXV signals. But not only did the commission let him try it for a year, it also is a now common practice around the country.

By broadcasting two radio stations and a television station to basically the same geographical audience, resources are pooled, utilizing the same news, weather, traffic and sports team for all three outlets.

"Larry is an innovative and bright human being," said Steve Samet, owner of Princeton's WZOE-AM and FM and WHNR in Winterhaven, Fla. "By broadcasting his television station in conjunction with radio, he has become a model around the country. I've never been with him that I haven't picked up a new idea."

Nelson's background in engineering gives him an edge over most station owners, according to Max Armstrong, associate farm service director for WGN radio. "He is a pretty sharp entrepreneur, because he comes from a different ownership approach," he said.

A shingle out front identifies two frame buildings standing alone on a country road in Plano as Nelson Broadcasting Co. The smaller one-story structure houses corporate offices; the second, much larger building contains studios, control rooms and offices.

A visitor to the studio finds an enthusiastic host, one who takes great pleasure in showing off his treasures.

Nelson leads the way from room to room, each of which contains sophisicated audio and video technology. He explains the electronic newsrooms, which contain computers made specifically for writing and editing newscasts, points out monitors and $30,000 cameras and demonstrates the progress made in storing music from record albums to tapes to compact disc to digital sound systems.

Nelson's engineering edge has not only helped spur his success, it also has given pause to Nelson's not-so-silent partner and wife, Pam, whom he met on a blind date and married in 1970.

"Every time she sees that look in my eye, she gets a little concerned," Nelson says in reference to the amount of sophisticated equipment in his control rooms.

Laughter booms from the husky, unpretentious Nelson, this day casually dressed in blue shirt, dress shirt and loafers.

"Pam says `the older the boy, the bigger the toy,' but if we weren't a team, all this wouldn't have happened," he said.

Pam learned early on if she wanted to be a part of Nelson's life, she had to live and breathe broadcasting with him. She spent many evenings at a radio station spinning records, doing segues and writing copy. Today she co-hosts the "Fox Valley Today" program on Channel 30, oversees the day-to-day accounting and is treasurer of the business.

The objective of a successful business consists of creating or meeting a need for a product and supplying that product to one's market or audience. Nelson recognized that the entire area, including Naperville, Aurora and Yorkville, had been virtually ignored by Chicago's stations.

Suburban radio competition in that area is limited, and there is no other suburban television station (outside of cable).